Alzheimer's Disease

More than five million older Americans live with Alzheimer's disease and a new test can tell you ahead of time if you're going to get it. Alex Dreyfoos's mother had Alzheimer's and he feared the same fate. So he underwent genetic testing and a battery of tests for memory and brain function. The results suggested he had the disease. But then doctors at Mount Sinai School of Medicine told him about a new test that would tell him for sure. Dreyfoos underwent a PET scan with a new radioactive dye that detects amyloid plaques in the brain, the hallmark of Alzheimer's. Prior to this test, that could only be confirmed at autopsy. Dr. Sam Gandy was part of a team that analyzed Dreyfoos's PET scan. Gandy said that he, too, had assumed Dreyfoos had Alzheimer's based on his story. But why would patients want to know if they have a disease with no cure? "They can seek out clinical trials," Gandy said. "They can think about doing more physical exercise. We know that physical exercise slows the progression."
- Dr. Sam Gandy, Professor, Neurology, Psychiatry, Associate Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mount Sinai School of MedicineLearn more